Extracurriculars & Awards

College Application Essays

“Welcome to Wal-Mart!” That’s what my father says when he greets people at his job. Similarly, my mom may ask a Sears customer, “How can I help you today?”
It is impossible to get to know me without getting to know my parents. My friends will tell you about how sociable my mom is--she never hesitates to say, “hi,” to any of my friends and loves adding them all on Facebook. My dad, on the other hand, is much...

Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay

571 Words

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In a short paragraph, please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (250 word limit)
Silence floods the room as Mr. Dugan gives us a final pep talk before the first show. The nerves and excitement are palpable. Before I know it, his speech ends, the lights come up, the music swells, and the performance begins. Countless hours of rehearsal have culminated in this. I set foot on stage; there’s a full house. All that hard...

Supplemental Essay: Amusing anecdote

497 Words

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The stage is pitch black and the house is packed. Suddenly, a woman in a brown dress with a voluptuous perm and pearl necklace walks, or rather, struts, onto the stage. She turns to the crowd, curtsies, and begins to sing in a god-awful high pitched voice. This is in fact not a woman, but me, a 16 year old boy.
The role is Mary Sunshine in the notorious musical Chicago. Ms. Sunshine is like any other character in the show,...

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College Admissions Advice

Why I ultimately chose my school

920 Words

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"Mailboxes Suck but USC Doesn’t"
“So why did you apply to USC?” As a student from Upstate New York, I was asked this question a lot throughout my senior year. Well, in short, I was introduced to USC through an organization called QuestBridge, which links low-income students to amazing schools. As a finalist for QB’s National College Match, I was able to apply to USC, a partner school of QB, for free. What first caught my eye was the fact that USC has the most international students of any American university. I was also enticed by the beautiful...